Semiconductor memories are used in integrated circuits for electronic applications, including radios, televisions, cell phones, and personal computing devices. One type of semiconductor memory device involves spin electronics, which combines semiconductor technology and magnetic materials and devices. The spin of electrons, through their magnetic moments, rather than the charge of the electrons, is used to indicate a bit.
One such spin electronic device is a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) array, which includes conductive lines (word lines and bit lines) positioned in different directions, e.g., perpendicular to each other in different metal layers. The conductive lines sandwich a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), which functions as a magnetic memory cell.